Freerace sail with 2 to 3 camber: The new Naish Cam Freerace in the first test

Naish offers three sails in the freeride and freerace segment. From the rather soft-tuned Sprint "with a Dacron luff", as Product Manager Michi Schweiger explains, to the No Cam Freerace with more batten and stiffer X-Ply in the luff (complete test here) to the latest model, the Cam Freerace. Michi Schweiger promises "a sail that planes well passively and doesn't need to be as large as a pure racing sail. Although it still has the DNA of a racing sail, it doesn't have to be ridden as overpowered and the narrower mast sleeve makes it feel a little softer".

We were able to surf the 2025 Naish Cam Freerace in size 7.8 with three camber on the brand-new Duotone Blast D_Lab 165 in mid-October 2024. And to start with: this is a really successful combination for sporty freeriding in light and medium planing winds. We were able to experience this extensively during the test on Lake Garda.

Naish Cam Freerace 7.8 surf test

On land: The Naish Cam Freerace is a classic freerace sail with a wide mast sleeve and two or three cambers depending on the size (see data table below). This makes it easy to thread the mast and mount the boom in the large mast recess. As a side effect, the mast is also easy to grip when surfing: when starting or manoeuvring. The cut-out is long, and during our test it was possible to mount it just above the centre. This means that surfers over 1.90 metres and even those under 1.80 metres should still be able to handle it well.

A lot of tension is required on the luff to give the sail the necessary trim, but the trimming forces are still within the feasible range. In return, you are rewarded with an impeccable, smoothly ironed profile. In low-wind trim, the loose runs about a hand's width beyond the short battens into the sail and the mast sleeve is also taut in the boom area. The deep belly in the boom area flattens out very evenly into the wide twisting top. The sail still offers plenty of trim reserves for high winds without appearing over-trimmed. The sail is hung neutrally on the outhaul or tensioned slightly by one centimetre.

How the new Naish sail performs on the water

Compared to pure racing sails, the Naish Cam Freerace has been given more belly, not only below the boom, but also a little further up. The second batten above the boom also has a recognisable profile. You can feel the effect immediately: the deep profile pulls away evenly with little wind pressure and is firm and easy to control from the very first few metres. At the same time, it doesn't feel hard as a board, but offers a minimum of damping, which ensures good comfort. Above all, however, the sail is very stable on the board and requires virtually no corrections.

It offers good acceleration and keeps the glide stable even in wind holes. Despite the camber construction, we found the sail to be quite manageable, both when gybing and tacking. Only the camber, which sits really tightly on the mast, reminds you with a good jolt at every jibe that you are holding a serious piece of sports equipment in your hands.

In very strong gusts or increasing wind, a - slight - pull on the back hand is noticeable, but overall the sail remains stable and can be "neutralised" very easily with a little more clew tension, even in really strong winds, and offers very good control in a wide wind range. Overall, the Naish Cam Freerace is a solid, well-balanced freerace sail that combines performance and control even in demanding conditions. Good visibility is guaranteed by the window that extends far downwards and upwards to the rear, which is not insignificant when you are travelling so fast.